Drunk In A Bathtub
by KNO
Summary: One-shot, AU. Tenten gets drunk in her bathtub and invites Neji over.


"I'm only calling to let you know you have a closing window of opportunity to see me naked for the last time."

There is raucous background noise on the other end of the line. Tenten asks in loud surprise, "Are you at a _bar_?"

She can almost hear Neji rolling his eyes when he says, "No. I'm at a restaurant."

"Sounds like a very loud restaurant," she comments.

"I was having dinner with some colleagues."

"Is that code for you were on a date?" Tenten asks.

"No," Neji replies, sounding annoyed. "Did I hear you correctly when I picked up? It's loud here."

"Ah, changing the subject," Tenten says wisely, her words slurring.

"Are you drunk?" Neji asks.

Tenten rolls her eyes and leans her head against the side of her bathtub. "That sounded really condescending. Do you want to see me naked or not?"

There is a pause, and Tenten can hear the beep of a car horn and mingled laughter. "Are you _sure_ you're not at a bar and just didn't realize? You're not the most perceptive in social situations, you know," she continues.

"Tenten, we're broken up."

Tenten sighs loudly—she was not unaware of that detail; she had just chosen to ignore it.

"Okay, so you don't want to see me naked, then? This was just a courtesy call, you know. I can call Kiba or someone—"

"Do you want me to come over?" Neji interrupts. Tenten is mildly disappointed that he sounds more concerned than turned on, but she shrugs. Choosers couldn't be beggars, or something like that.

"Sure, if you want."

"I'll be there soon," Neji says, then ends the call.

Tenten drops her phone on the bathroom floor and sighs, analyzing the bubbles. They look big and shiny and fluffy. She smiles to herself and reaches for her wine glass, which is half-full, but seems a little low in her estimation. Happily, Tenten reaches for the wine bottle sitting on the corner edge of the bathtub where she usually kept her shampoo bottle. She takes a swig from the bottle before topping off her glass. The red wine swishes cheerfully in its green glass bottle when she sets it down again.

Humming a little tune, Tenten sips from her glass. Wine was not her first choice tonight—she'd started with a wine cooler but was left dissatisfied by the sickly-sweet taste. So, she'd switched to bitters.

"Bitters!" Tenten shouts out, toasting with her glass. Some of the red wine sloshes out and splashes into the tub, turning a few bubbles pinkish. "Dammit," Tenten says, taking another gulp as she considers the bathwater.

She feels light—light as air, light as a bubble, light as wine. Tenten sighs, clutching the glass to her chest, modestly covered in suds.

Time passes, but to Tenten it seems like only moments before she can hear her front door being unlocked and opened. Had she gotten her key back from Neji, or had he remembered her spare was in the stone cat's mouth? Or had she given him the spare she'd used to keep in the stone cat's mouth? Tenten couldn't remember.

She calls out to him, "Is that the cat's mouth key?"

Neji does not answer immediately. She hears him approach the bathroom, but he stops in the hallway, outside the door.

"Are you decent?" he asks warily.

"No," Tenten answers. "Are you?"

"Tenten—"

"Dammit, Neji, just come in!" she reproaches. "You don't have to see anything you don't want to. Shut your eyes or something."

With an audibly irritated sigh, Neji cautiously enters the bathroom, his eyes turned upward towards the ceiling.

Tenten grins. "So, tell me about your date."

Neji crosses his arms and turns his back to her, but she sees him roll his eyes in the mirror mounted on the wall.

"It wasn't a date. I was with my boss and some other colleagues."

"So, a group date then? How . . . responsible."

"It was a work dinner," Neji maintains, his tone growing edgier.

Tenten smiles to herself, taking another gulp from her glass.

"Where did you go?" she asks conversationally.

"Some ramen shop that just opened."

Tenten sighs pleasantly, thinking of ramen. She catches Neji's eyes flickering towards her in the mirror before he catches himself, lifting his gaze back up to the ceiling.

"Neji, come on. I have bubbles. You can't see anything if you don't stare too hard. You can even get in if you want."

"I'm not going to take a bath with you," Neji says firmly, but he lets himself turn to appraise her. "You know you're bathing in your own filth, right?"

Tenten doesn't try to hide her smile when his eyes dip, just slightly, to the foam covering her chest and torso.

"Come sit," she encourages, pointing with one sudsy toe to the lip of the bathtub.

Begrudgingly, Neji obliges.

"You look nice in your suit," Tenten compliments, noticing the pressed black pants he's wearing. "Do you like your new job?"

Neji shrugs. "It's different than Uncle's company, certainly."

"It sounds like they have more of a social community," Tenten says thoughtfully, draining the rest of her glass.

Neji eyes her. "How much wine have you had?"

Tenten shrugs, unconcerned. She begins to sit up to reach for the wine bottle, but Neji stops her with an outstretched hand. A deep blush graces his cheekbones as he hands her the bottle.

"Here," Tenten says, pouring a splash of wine in her glass. She holds it out for Neji to take.

"I drank enough at dinner," he says, but he takes the glass anyway.

Tenten takes a swill from the bottle, settling herself comfortably.

"So?" she challenges. "I've drunk almost this whole bottle and I'm fine."

"The whole bottle?" Neji asks, shooting her a glance. "What's the occasion?"

Tenten shrugs again. "Do I need one? I started with a wine cooler but it was gross. Come on, Neji. Drink with me."

Neji sighs and drinks the small amount she'd poured into the glass. He sets it on the bathroom floor, out of Tenten's reach.

"Tell me about the girl you have your eye on at work. The one that was at dinner," Tenten commands. She feels irascible all of a sudden—she glares up at Neji with narrowed eyes.

"There isn't a girl I have my eye on," Neji replies testily. "What is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem. I want to know what kind of girl is going to follow me," Tenten says. "What's wrong with that?"

Neji stares at her. "Tenten, that's none of your business. You broke up with me."

Tenten squints at Neji, clutching the neck of the wine bottle to her shoulder. "No," she says slowly. "We agreed. Together."

Neji shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "Are you so drunk you can't remember something that happened two days ago?" he asks her.

"Why did you come over?" Tenten demands.

"Because you asked me to."

"No, I didn't," Tenten says, loudly. She starts to stand, but Neji stills her with a hand on her knee. The sleeve of his expensive jacket stains with soapy water.

"Besides being completely wasted, why did you call me?" Neji asks, leaning close.

Tenten lifts the bottle to her lips and takes a small sip. She holds it out to Neji, and he holds it, his eyes remaining on hers.

Tenten sighs and shrugs, resting her head on the wall. "It's a stupid reason."

Neji waits, lifting his eyebrows to indicate she should go on.

"I guess I kind of missed you or missed us. Something like that," Tenten mutters, waving her hand dismissively.

Neji blinks at her once, and then straightens. He takes a gulp from the wine bottle. Tenten watches as the last of the wine disappears, Neji's throat bobbing as he swallows.

He winces, "That's so bitter."

"I think it's delicious," Tenten replies, wishing there was more. She peers at Neji. "And that was my last bottle. Will you run to the store for me? There's money in my wallet on the kitchen table."

"You're not drinking anymore tonight."

Tenten crosses her arms, grumpy. How was it possible she had forgotten that Neji didn't know how to have fun?

"You're killing my mood," she says waspishly.

"I guess you should have called Kiba instead of me, then," Neji says, raising an unamused eyebrow at her. "That was rude, by the way."

Tenten shrugs, but her heart was sad. "I can't believe you don't want to see me naked anymore," she says emotionally. She is embarrassed to feel tears welling up in her eyes. God, she hated being this drunk.

"Tenten," Neji says. He reaches out, but Tenten swats at his hand before he can touch her.

"Just leave," Tenten sobs. "We're broken up. You shouldn't be here."

"I'm not going to leave you like this," Neji says flatly. "Drain this water and take a real shower."

With this instruction and a sharp glance over his shoulder, Neji exits the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Sniffling, Tenten releases the stopper and watches the soapy water swirl down the drain. Much to her annoyance, Neji was right—she feels gross now.

Under the hot water, Tenten scrubs her hair and body, increasingly feeling more sober—though her thoughts are still a jumble.

When she emerges a half hour later, wrapped in a fluffy robe, Neji is sitting on the couch flipping through one of the coffee table magazines. He glances at her as she approaches, his features indeterminable.

"Feel better?" he asks.

"Marginally," Tenten replies. She shuffles to the kitchen and turns on the electric kettle. She fixes tea, and unceremoniously hands Neji his mug when she sits down next to him on the couch.

"Do you want to have a conversation about how our relationship is going to function, now that we're broken up?" Neji asks after a long moment.

"No," Tenten replies, holding the mug in both her hands, relishing the warmth.

Neji sighs softly and sips his tea.

They sit in silence for a while until Tenten finally says, "You don't want me to call you anymore—is that what you're saying?"

"Tenten, you know that's not what I'm saying."

"I thought you would _want _to come over," Tenten continues. She leans her head back into the couch—she can feel a wine headache coming on.

"I did want that."

"So, you didn't want to see me naked, then?"

Neji shoots her a look, a mixture between amusement and aggravation. "You don't want to be with me anymore," he states. "It's not fair for you to want things to be different and the same. It's confusing."

"What if I've changed my mind?" Tenten poses, unsure if she has.

"Then we can talk about it when you're sober," Neji says, getting to his feet.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," Neji answers, staring down at her.

"But I don't want you to leave," Tenten stumbles out.

"Tenten," he starts.

"Neji," Tenten interrupts, "please. I missed you so I called, okay? I wanted to see you, and I wanted you to see me." There is a beat, then Tenten says in a small voice, "I got wasted so I could stop thinking about you, but you see how well that worked out."

"You don't have to get drunk and tempt me with nakedness to get me to come over," Neji says factually. "I told you I wanted to get married and you freaked out. You could have simply talked to me about it, rather than break up with me on a whim."

Tenten winces at this truth, squinting into the contents of her mug. "Ouch," she whispers.

Neji exhales and sits down again, taking the mug from her hands and setting it on the coffee table. He grasps her chin and tilts it until Tenten meets his eyes.

"For what it's worth, I miss you too," Neji says, his gaze unwavering. "It's only been two days, and I don't know how I'm going to keep moving through life when you're not with me."

Tenten sucks in a breath and releases it, feeling lightheaded. She presses her fingers to her eyes. "Maybe we can revisit that conversation."

Neji nods, expressionless. "If you want."

"Okay," Tenten says, stifling a yawn. "In the morning?"

"In the morning," Neji agrees, pulling Tenten to her feet. He lightly nudges her to her bedroom. "I'll see you then. And please be clothed this time, Tenten."

Tenten smiles weakly over her shoulder. "I make no promises."

* * *

_Just something short and sweet-well, at least that was what I was trying for. Got a bit away from that by the end, huh? :/ Thanks for reading! -KNO_


End file.
